Honour Your Mother

[0:00] How do we actually honour our mothers and why do we honour our mothers?! We're going to look at God's Word for that. We're going to read from Matthew chapter 15. So open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 15, verses 1 to 8.

[0:13] We're actually not going to focus on this verse, we'll come back to it partway through the sermon, but we're going to try and look through the whole Bible about what it tells us about honouring our mothers. And I hope that this will be a wonderful encouragement for us, to consider how we honour our mothers and why it is that we honour our mothers.

[0:38] But Matthew 15 speaks a little bit to this issue, so Matthew 15, verses 1 to 8. Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?

[0:54] For they do not wash their hands when they eat. He answered them, Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, honour your father and your mother, and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.

[1:13] But you say, if anyone tells his father or mother, what you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honour his father. So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God.

[1:27] You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

[1:44] Let's pray together. Father, please help us not to be hypocrites. Please help us to honour you, not just with our lips, but with our hearts.

[1:56] Please help us to honour our mums as an expression of honouring you. We might do it genuinely in praise of you. Amen. So, Mother's Day, we are going to try and think through the whole Bible, and what does it say about mothers.

[2:13] And the first thing I want to talk about is, it's Mother's Day, and I want to talk about the apostrophe. That is, Mother's Day is not a biblical tradition, it's just a human tradition, but it is one that helps us with a biblical principle.

[2:26] It's important to note where the apostrophe is in Mother's Day. It's not Mother's plural day, but it's Mother's singular.

[2:38] That is, it's not a day to honour motherhood generally, or make you feel special if you're a mum, you always are, but it's a day to remind us all to honour our own mums.

[2:52] Whether you're a mother or not, that doesn't really matter today, because today is for you because you have a mother, and you're called to honour your mother. So, that's what I want to encourage us to do this morning.

[3:04] Consider your own mother, whether a good mother or a bad mother, whether a close or distant, whether a complicated relationship, whether alive or dead. What does God have to say about honouring our own mothers?

[3:18] And one of the things, if you look through the whole Bible, you'll note, is that mothers are not the point of the Bible's story, but they are enablers, great enablers, all the way through of the biblical story, all the way through, they are helpers, life givers, that bring about God's purposes.

[3:36] And so, we're going to consider why we should honour our mother, and then how to honour our mother. We're going to look at a whole pile of passages, as we go through. So, right back at the start of the Bible, Genesis 1, see the first thing that God does, after He creates humans, is He blesses man and woman, and then He gives them this command, in Genesis 1, 28.

[3:59] Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. Alright, and so, fruitfulness and multiplying, set mothers into creation purpose, don't they?

[4:09] Mothers are part of fulfilling that divine mandate, to multiply and to fill the earth. And so, your mother, as she's given birth to you, she has been part of fulfilling, the command of God.

[4:24] And just as, the man was created to, work the ground, to bear fruit from the ground, the woman was created from the man, to help the man, to bear fruit from the man.

[4:35] And so, your mother, has fulfilled this creation purpose. And so, honour her, in her role of multiplying, and filling the earth, that's a good thing, and it's a purpose, ordained by God.

[4:47] When, Eve, was deceived, by that ancient serpent, she ate the fruit, in defiance of God, she and her husband, deserved to die that day.

[5:00] But in pronouncing, the curses, God actually promised, that the woman's offspring, would crush the serpent's head. That is, the woman, though she did, deserved to, would not die that day, but would live yet, to be a mother.

[5:19] And a mother, through whom, would come, release from the curse, and defeat of that dragon. So, motherhood, is a mercy granted, when it was not deserved.

[5:32] Motherhood, was a necessary purpose of God, to bring about, redemption. And just as man, was cursed, in his relationship, with the ground, and there would be pain, in bearing fruit from it.

[5:43] So, the woman was cursed, in her relationship, with the man, and pain, in bearing fruit from him. That is, pain in childbirth. God has made men, and women differently, and he's cursed them, differently, in their creation purposes.

[5:59] Your mother has endured, the curse of God, to bring you life. In Genesis 3, 16, to the woman, he said, I will surely multiply, your pain, in childbearing, in pain, you shall bring forth children.

[6:11] And then, we're told in Genesis 3, verse 20, the man called his wife's name, Eve, because she was the mother, of all living.

[6:24] And so, though we, you know, curse, our first mother, Eve, forever listening to that serpent, we bless, and we honour her, as the one through whom, we all came. She is the mother, of all living.

[6:37] We would not, be here, but for her, and God's mercy to her. And likewise, you would not be here, without your mother, she has enabled your life.

[6:49] Now, perhaps for, a small number of people, that's literally all that you, can thank your mother for. Because of death, or abandonment, or worse, meaning that you've got nothing, to be thankful for, for your mother, but that's reason enough, to honour your mother, that she's given you life.

[7:05] She's partaking, in the purpose, given to mankind, to multiply, to fill the earth, and she has suffered, the curse of God, to bring you that life. For most of us, there's much more, that we can be thankful to, for our mothers, isn't there?

[7:19] The author of Psalm 131, talks about his own soul, and he describes it, as like a weaned child, with its mother. Calm, and quiet. Not concerned, with the bigger issues, of life, the things that are too wonderful, for him, but safe, in its mother's arms.

[7:35] Our mothers, have born us, and for the most part, have loved us deeply, fed us, nurtured us, taught us, and mothers have cared, deeply for us.

[7:49] So, in the Bible's story, mothers, are not the focus, the Bible's not fundamentally, about mothers, but all the way through, they are, they are, enablers, of the story of God.

[8:00] They enable the blessing, and the purpose, of God, to actually come about. And your mother, has enabled you, to be here today, to honour the Lord, and to live for him.

[8:15] And so, thinking about, just the creation order, as to why we, honour our mothers. God gives mothers, a duty, along with fathers, to teach their children. And to teach their children, what will actually be, an honour, to their kids.

[8:27] So, Proverbs, 1, 8 and 9, says this, Hear my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not, your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland, for your head, and pendants, for your neck.

[8:41] And so, parents are called, to provide teaching, which will adorn their children. And children are called, to hear, and to not forsake, the teaching of their parents. It's right for parents, to teach their kids, and it's right for kids, to honour their parents, by, heeding, and living out that teaching.

[9:01] God in His Word, has created, three governments, right, directly ordained, there's, there's three governments, there's the government of state, the one that rules our nation, we're required to honour those, who do rule us as a nation.

[9:16] There's the government of church, and we're required to honour those, who bring us God's Word, and watch over our souls. And there's the government of family, and of course, we're required to honour our father, and our mother, who teach us, and care for us.

[9:30] And, this commandment to honour, your mother and your father, is not just for children, it's for the whole, of Christ's community, it's for adults too. Honour is what God demands, we give to those, who are over us, in different spheres, of life.

[9:44] And honouring parents, is one of the principles, that define, God's people. So, God gave the command, that we read from Exodus, when he'd rescued his people, called them as his own, led them into the wilderness, and told them, this is how you live, as my people.

[10:02] And a people, who are devoted to God, throughout the generations, fundamentally requires, an honouring of parents, doesn't it? Because, if you've got a whole people, that do not honour their parents, it's not actually going to last, very many generations.

[10:15] And as we, are gathered together, under Christ, we're continuing, to be a people of God, down the generations, who honour our mother.

[10:26] It's commandment number five, in the Ten Commandments, and it's a commandment, that comes with a blessing. We saw that, Exodus 20 verse 12, honour your father, and your mother, that your days, may be long in the land, that the Lord your God, is giving you.

[10:42] Why is there a blessing, for obeying this command? Because it's a command, that's embedded, in our natures, and the order, that God has foreordained, isn't it? To disrespect this order, is like disrespecting, the Archea manual, thinking you're going to end up, with a functioning sideboard.

[11:00] But following the instructions, means that your sideboard, will live long in the land, or the room that it's in. To honour your parents, is to live consistent, with the way that God, has actually created the world, created society, created and ordered us, as people together.

[11:16] To dishonour your parents, is actually to, tear apart a thread, in the fabric of society. Our society is made up of, a tapestry of relationships, that are woven together.

[11:28] And just as divorce, tears a hole in that fabric, as relationships break down, and children are now, divided between parents, and grandparents are cut off, from seeing kids, and in-laws, no longer talk to each other, and all of a sudden, these relationships that were there, are torn apart.

[11:45] Dishonouring our parents, tears a hole, from one generation, to the next. Relationships that are supposed, to be in order, are dishonoured, they're broken, they're overturned. Dishonouring your mother, is something which creates, mess in her life, as well as yours, division between generations, that shouldn't be there.

[12:01] And then generally, as a pattern, bleeds down through the generations. As your children, learn from the model, of you, to dishonour their parents, and so there's ongoing mess.

[12:15] And the Bible is very clear, that it deserves death. Dishonouring your mother, or your father, is deadly serious. For honouring your mother, is an expression of nothing less than, honouring God.

[12:30] If you do not honour your mother, then you do not honour God. How can you, when it's one of his fundamental commands? When it's the very fabric, of the reality, that God has created.

[12:44] Now, it is important, just as a side note, to say, honouring mum, is an expression of honouring, is an expression of honouring God, which means, it can only happen, when it's done, in obedience to God.

[12:54] If a mother, commands their child, you may not submit to Christ. Well, the best way to honour your mother, at that point, is to disobey her. Just as if a government, tried to forbid us, from submitting to Christ, disobedience, to tyranny, is obedience to God.

[13:13] And it honours Him, and ultimately, it honours the one, who is tyrannising. But the command remains, still, to honour. We honour our mothers, as an expression, of honouring God.

[13:27] And, the passage we read in Matthew, Jesus confronted the Pharisees, in His day, for claiming, to honour God, but showing, it was a lie, by their deeds. They said, that, honour your father and mother, that was a command, but if you say, I've actually given, what I owe to my parents, I've given it to God, so it's all His, they say, well now you don't actually, have to, honour your parents anymore.

[13:50] And Jesus calls them out, and says, you are hypocrites. You honour me with your lips, but your hearts, are far from me. And honouring God, in truth, requires, that we genuinely, honour our parents.

[14:05] And mothers, aren't the point, of the Bible story, but they do enable it, by bringing about people, who will praise the Lord, from one generation, to the next. We honour the Lord, by honouring the one, who enabled our life.

[14:19] So, what does it mean, to honour your mother? The Bible tells us that too, and so firstly, negatively, it warns us, of all the kinds of things, not to do. And I take it, it warns us, because these are very, real possibilities.

[14:33] And if you, are like many other people, your relationship, with your parents, may well be complicated. But these are the things, explicitly commanded against. The Bible warns us, against cursing our parents, or striking our parents, or robbing our parents, or not listening to them, of chasing your mother away, of being foolish, or of being undisciplined.

[14:58] All of these things, dishonour your parents. The Bible says, that treating your mother, or your father this way, deserves death. And it says, that both it incurs judgment, that is, it should incur the death penalty, for the one who dishonours their parents, but also, there's natural consequences.

[15:17] That the one who dishonours their parents, is cursed. That they will bring shame, and sorrow upon themselves, their lamp will be put out. But on the flip side, what does it, honouring your mother, look like positively?

[15:32] Honouring your mother, means, blessing her, and not cursing her. It means, actually, doing, what it is that she would, have you do, isn't it?

[15:42] So, obedience when you're a child, or a young adult, it's care and provision, as you and she, get older. Mothers, as well as fathers, are to teach their children, and discipline them.

[15:56] And so, honouring your mother, means, adorning yourself, with her teaching, in as much as it honours God, to walk in, wisdom, and discipline, that she has given you.

[16:08] That her teaching, would be, a garland for your head, and pendants around your neck, for you to be, a walking example, of wisdom, and instruction, that she has given you. You are a walking, reflection on your parents, which is why, in Proverbs 29, 15, it says, a child left to himself, brings shame, to his mother.

[16:27] Because, the relationship's, inescapable. It's not, whether or not, you will affect your mother, or, you can honour her, or you can shame her, but you can't escape, a response, that does reflect on her.

[16:43] So, you will most honour your mother, by living your life, in a manner, which honours God, and which blesses her. And that is, unconditional as well.

[16:53] It's regardless, of how well she has done, her job. Regardless of whether, your mum's been a good mum, or a bad mum, you honour her, by living in submission to God, in a way that blesses her.

[17:06] What's, what's that, what's the purpose of motherhood? Right? So, obviously, bring life, and then, see that life, live the best life it can live.

[17:17] That's what, that's what mothers, have a longing for, isn't it? I want my child, to grow up, and be a wonderful human being. I want them to grow up, and have the best in life. I want to care for them, I want to make sure they're safe, I want to make sure that they're, looked after, and they are, they are a wonderful person.

[17:33] And, the relationship that we have, is inescapable. We live our lives best, by, sorry, we honour our mother, by living our lives, the best way that we can, because that's what she most wants for us.

[17:47] We honour her best, by living in submission, to God, in a way that blesses her. And if your mother, has died, you honour her still, by the manner in which you live.

[17:59] She's given you life, how do you live it? She's taught you, how do you wear her teaching, as a garland, as a pendant, that adorns your life, to glorify and honour God.

[18:12] And so, for young children, to bless your mother with honour, is to obey her, with a willing heart, to give her, that joy of trust, and willingness. Ephesians 6 says, children, obey your parents and Lord, for this is right.

[18:27] For older kids, and for young adults, it's to take on board, her teaching, apply it, and live it out, with grace and with love, to bring joy and blessing to her. And we see Jesus embodying, this idea of honouring, his mother, after his parents left him Jerusalem, we read in Luke 2, and he, Jesus, went down with them, Mary and Joseph, and came to Nazareth, and was submissive to them.

[18:53] And his mother treasured up, all these things, in her heart. And as we age, we're told, not to despise our mothers, when they're old, but rather, it's for children, to care for their aged parents.

[19:07] We bless our mothers, by ensuring that provision, by continuing to bless her, both in the manner, in which we live, her teaching is this, graceful garland, on our head, and in the manner, in which we relate to her, to bless and not to curse.

[19:20] And again, Jesus shows us the way in this, he ensures provision, for his own mother, even from the cross. And so in John 19, we read, standing by the cross of Jesus, were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

[19:38] And when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved, standing nearby, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. And he said to the disciple, behold your mother.

[19:52] And from that hour, the disciple took her, to his own home. So Jesus provided, care for his mother, as John looked after her. 1 Timothy 5, makes this point explicit, particularly in the case of widows.

[20:05] 1 Timothy 5, 4, but if a widow has children, or grandchildren, let them first learn, to show godliness, to their own household, and make some return, to their parents, for this is pleasing, in the sight of God.

[20:19] And then verse 8, if anyone does not provide, for his relatives, and especially for members, of his household, he is denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. Honouring our mothers, is very serious.

[20:31] On one hand, it pleases God, to provide for her. On the other hand, if we don't do it, worse than an unbeliever. Honouring our mothers, is one way, that we show honour, to God.

[20:45] To dishonour our mother, is to deny the wisdom of God, in the way that he's set things up. It's to embark down a road, which has natural consequences, of bringing upon, cursing on ourselves, and self-destruction, and it's worthy of death.

[20:58] But honouring parents, even those not, particularly deserving, of much honour, brings blessing and life, and it honours God. It honours the manner, in which he's ordained the world, it honours the one, who underwent the curse of God, through the pain of childbirth, to take part in God's purposes, and bring you life.

[21:16] So the Bible is, the story is not about, mothers or motherhood, but mothers enabled it, all the way through. Our first mother was there, with the serpent in the garden, she was shown the mercy of God, to become our mother, and the mother of, the serpent crusher, who sets us free.

[21:35] Galatians 4, says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those, who are under the law, so that we might receive, adoption as sons.

[21:49] A mother enabled the incarnation, our God, becoming man, to bring us, to God. And mothers enable, the picture that we have, at the end of the Bible too.

[22:02] For the great, hope that we're given, the great image of eternal life, is this, in Revelation 7, that it's a great multitude, that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples, and languages, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out, with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.

[22:30] And that multitude, is all of God's people, saved, purified, brought together, into His eternal joy, forever, washed clean, by the blood of the Lamb, given new birth, through the resurrection, of the dead.

[22:46] And each one, of those people, in that great multitude, had a mother. It's mothers, who actually, bring life, and it's through that life, that we live, and that we live, to be part of that great multitude.

[23:03] The fulfillment of motherhood, is that the serpent crusher, has come. That great multitude, is alive, to praise the Lord, for, to the end of days. Everyone in that great multitude, has a mother, who's given them birth, and the best way, that you can possibly, honour your mother, is to be there, on that last day.

[23:21] She's given you life, that you might live it, the best you possibly can. And the best you can, possibly live, is to live forever. It's to live forever, submitting to the Lord Jesus, being part of that crowd, and praising God forever, that will honour your mother, in the best way possible, for what she has done for you.

[23:42] Doing what God has designed, for you. Praising God, for all eternity. It's our mothers, who have enabled us, to have life. Who have been over us, to teach, to disciple, to guide, to love us, to enable us, as living beings, to honour and glorify our God.

[23:58] And we fulfil, a mother's purpose, when we do, honour and praise our God, and return blessing to her. So we honour our mothers, as an expression of, honouring our God. So today, as we just have this, tradition, tradition of man, to honour our mother, consider your circumstances, your relationship, with your mother, and consider how you might, continue to honour her, as your mother.

[24:23] Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much, for mothers. Mothers who enabled, this story of the Bible, to come. Motherhood, which means that, there is a humanity, which is, many people, multiplied and filled the earth, and are still doing so.

[24:40] Thank you that, through our mother, came the serpent crusher, who defeated Satan, who brings us new life. Thank you that, there is this promise, of eternal life, that we might, live forever.

[24:52] And so, fulfil the purpose, of our mothers, who gave us life. We pray that you, please help us, to consider our own mums, and how we might, bless them, and thank them, and honour them, as our mums.

[25:04] Amen.